Hyundai Kona vs Kia Niro...which one should replace my ICE vehicle!?

Disclaimer: I'm posting an almost identical post on the Kia Niro forum, so apologies if you've already seen this.

Brand new to this forum, but proud owner of a 2013 Fiat 500e and the unfortunate, current lessee of an ICE vehicle. I am currently living in Texas (happened to find the Fiat 500e at the local CarMax in 2016 with only 8000 miles on it!), which makes my EV enthusiasm a bit difficult to say the least. My lease is ending soon and my rabbit-hole of a search for an EV to replace my current car has led me to two finalists, the 2019 Kia Niro EV and the 2019 Hyundai Kona EV. I've been in touch with Hyundai and Kia dealerships and done quite a bit of research on these vehicles, but am struggling to really differentiate these cars from one another.

The 2019 Kia Niro EV is expected to be delivered to select Texas Kia dealerships in early 2019, as per my conversations with several dealerships. The 2019 Hyundai Kona EV, on the other hand, was not going to show up in Texas at all...and multiple dealerships had told me that I would not even be able to order one to be delivered, so I figured my decision was made for me.

BUT THEN

I saw this article: https://insideevs.com/hyundai-kona-electric-u-s-demand/ that says that, although California and other ZEV states will be the only states that receive deliveries of the car, Hyundai will ship the 2019 Kona EV to dealers in non-ZEV states if there is a "sold order" in place.

So it looks like I have a choice again. I'm ultimately planning on test-driving both vehicles (out of town weddings are a good a time for a test-drive as any, right?), but wanted to see if there was anything else any of you had heard, seen, read, experienced that would lead you to recommend one vehicle over the other?

Welcome to the forum! Hard to tell. What are your selection criteria: Cost;Space;Ride;Service Availability?
Off the top I like Niro because you'll be able to have it serviced in Texas. Sounds like purchasing the Kona in Texas is a "one off".
I find that the "compare" feature which is found on the Kia/Hyundai websites will give you a sense of how they compare spec wise. I do not own these vehicles, though from what I can gather they share some of the same systems (battery; electronics). The Kona is smaller, and I think it costs less. Per Consumers Reports the Niro ICE has excellent reliability.

Not sure I would purchase a vehicle that won't be able to be serviced in my state, and if they don't sell it, then they likely don't have mechanics, etc to service it at your local dealership.
I'm in CA but holding off getting a PHEV until some better options come out. Hope my current ICE vehicle can hold on a bit longer!!

GOOD LUCK! Post back when you decide and let us know how you came to a decision.

I've had the C-Max Energi PHEV for two years and it is wonderful beyond description--but Ford is discontinuing it along with many other cars. I get 98 mpg US. The Mitsubishi PHEV is selling like hotcakes here and we have a friend who bought one about 3 months ago and loves it. However, we have the Kona EV on order due to arrive around Christmas. We will keep our PHEV in case of any lengthy power outages.

Yeah, it looks like there's a heavy lean toward the Kia Niro almost solely because of the ability for it to be serviced here in Texas, whereas the Kona would be a one-off shipment without any guarantee of infrastructure to support it. On top of that, I've reached out to some local Hyundai dealerships and asked about shipment/ordering of the Kona EV...all of them have said no, contradicting the official company line. My EV journey led me to waffle over a Model 3 (ultimately felt that too much of a premium was assigned to this car), a never-ending wait for the promised longer range Hyundai Ioniq EV, the realization that I probably don't need an Audi/Porsche/Jaguar EV, and has ended here with the Niro besting the Kona. Thanks for all of the help, I'll let you guys know how it drives in a couple of months!

Hopefully, I get over not having that beautiful heads up display on the Kona but it seems that otherwise the two are pretty similar.

I'm in Canada and my Kona EV is coming in a week or so. I compared them as well, but only the Kona was available to pre-order here. Maintenance might not be such a big issue. The Kona EV owners manual says it only need servicing about once per year, and the servicing is just lubing doors, changing air filters, etc. Nothing major, and with EV's there is little maintenance. That kind of service could be provided by any Hyundai dealer.

Disclaimer: I'm posting an almost identical post on the Kia Niro forum, so apologies if you've already seen this.

Brand new to this forum, but proud owner of a 2013 Fiat 500e and the unfortunate, current lessee of an ICE vehicle. I am currently living in Texas (happened to find the Fiat 500e at the local CarMax in 2016 with only 8000 miles on it!), which makes my EV enthusiasm a bit difficult to say the least. My lease is ending soon and my rabbit-hole of a search for an EV to replace my current car has led me to two finalists, the 2019 Kia Niro EV and the 2019 Hyundai Kona EV. I've been in touch with Hyundai and Kia dealerships and done quite a bit of research on these vehicles, but am struggling to really differentiate these cars from one another.

The 2019 Kia Niro EV is expected to be delivered to select Texas Kia dealerships in early 2019, as per my conversations with several dealerships. The 2019 Hyundai Kona EV, on the other hand, was not going to show up in Texas at all...and multiple dealerships had told me that I would not even be able to order one to be delivered, so I figured my decision was made for me.

BUT THEN

I saw this article: https://insideevs.com/hyundai-kona-electric-u-s-demand/ that says that, although California and other ZEV states will be the only states that receive deliveries of the car, Hyundai will ship the 2019 Kona EV to dealers in non-ZEV states if there is a "sold order" in place.

So it looks like I have a choice again. I'm ultimately planning on test-driving both vehicles (out of town weddings are a good a time for a test-drive as any, right?), but wanted to see if there was anything else any of you had heard, seen, read, experienced that would lead you to recommend one vehicle over the other?

Thanks in advance, appreciate the help!

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It really depends what's more important to you.. If the extra 30km of range important? Legroom? Safety features? The Kona has better range and safety features that come stock in the Preferred, but the Kia has more leg room and cargo space, where you'll have to pay more to get the fancier safety features and such. Aside from that, it's mostly just aesthetics.

It really depends what's more important to you.. If the extra 30km of range important? Legroom? Safety features? The Kona has better range and safety features that come stock in the Preferred, but the Kia has more leg room and cargo space, where you'll have to pay more to get the fancier safety features and such. Aside from that, it's mostly just aesthetics.

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We got our Kona EV in February and it is a nice car--nice and sturdy with great mileage. We had to have it in for clunking on the rear end and brake pads and clips seemed to have fixed that issue. However, we bought a Kia Soul EV a month ago, and we love it. More comfortable than the Kona with more head room and easier to get in and out of without banging ones head, and more cargo room for our dogs. Comfort is better too with the seats and suspension is softer which we like. Technology is superior to our Kona too in that the Nav screen is huge and the traffic and weather features are great. So we would give the Kona an 8 out of 10 and Kia Soul a 9 out of 10. It is another option other than the Niro. It is pricier than the Kona though.

Disclaimer: I'm posting an almost identical post on the Kia Niro forum, so apologies if you've already seen this.

Brand new to this forum, but proud owner of a 2013 Fiat 500e and the unfortunate, current lessee of an ICE vehicle. I am currently living in Texas (happened to find the Fiat 500e at the local CarMax in 2016 with only 8000 miles on it!), which makes my EV enthusiasm a bit difficult to say the least. My lease is ending soon and my rabbit-hole of a search for an EV to replace my current car has led me to two finalists, the 2019 Kia Niro EV and the 2019 Hyundai Kona EV. I've been in touch with Hyundai and Kia dealerships and done quite a bit of research on these vehicles, but am struggling to really differentiate these cars from one another.

The 2019 Kia Niro EV is expected to be delivered to select Texas Kia dealerships in early 2019, as per my conversations with several dealerships. The 2019 Hyundai Kona EV, on the other hand, was not going to show up in Texas at all...and multiple dealerships had told me that I would not even be able to order one to be delivered, so I figured my decision was made for me.

BUT THEN

I saw this article: https://insideevs.com/hyundai-kona-electric-u-s-demand/ that says that, although California and other ZEV states will be the only states that receive deliveries of the car, Hyundai will ship the 2019 Kona EV to dealers in non-ZEV states if there is a "sold order" in place.

So it looks like I have a choice again. I'm ultimately planning on test-driving both vehicles (out of town weddings are a good a time for a test-drive as any, right?), but wanted to see if there was anything else any of you had heard, seen, read, experienced that would lead you to recommend one vehicle over the other?

Thanks in advance, appreciate the help!

Click to expand...

It depends what is more important to you.

More rear passenger and trunk space or
More range and better looks (in my opinion). If you are in the US, the Kona has to be the choice due to the Lifetime Warranty for the battery..